Cravath Announces Raises — Comes Over The Top Of Milbank Scale (For Some Associates)

// It’s been three weeks since Milbank showed up and showed out rocking the Biglaw echo chamber with both bonuses (expected) and raises (not expected). And until today, no firm has dipped their toe into that water by announcing a similar move — despite the argument the raises were tracked to inflationary pressure.

But now, finally, Cravath has decided to respond to the clamoring of associates desperate to know if they’ll be making the top-of-the-market compensation come the new year.

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They’ve announced a match of the Milbank scale for compensation for junior associates — but midlevel and senior associates will do even better at Cravath. The new salary scale at Cravath is as follows:

Class of 2023   $225,000  ($10K raise) Class of 2022   $235,000  ($10K raise) Class of 2021   $260,000  ($10K raise) Class of 2020   $310,000 ($5K more than Milbank, $15K total raise)   Class of 2019   $365,000  ($10K more than Milbank, $20K total raise) Class of 2018   $390,000  ($10K more than Milbank, $20K total raise) Class of 2017   $420,000  ($10K more than Milbank, $20K total raise)

Raises are effective January 1.

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Additionally, year-end bonuses were also announced, which match Milbank’s (and last year’s) numbers.

Class of 2023   $15,000   Class of 2022   $20,000   Class of 2021   $30,000   Class of 2020   $57,500   Class of 2019   $75,000   Class of 2018   $90,000   Class of 2017   $105,000

The full memo is below.

Cravath has long been considered a compensation leader. Now that they’ve made their move, it can’t be too long before the rest of Biglaw reacts.

Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.

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Compensation Memo

Earlier: Milbank Raises Associate Salaries And Announces Year-End Bonuses!
5 Things You Need To Know If Your Biglaw Firm Hasn’t Matched Milbank’s New Compensation Scale
Top Biglaw Firm Leaders Criticize Milbank’s Money Moves
The Insufferable Nonsense Biglaw Is Spouting Over Milbank’s Raises
Desperately Seeking A Milbank Match: When Will The Waiting Game End?Matching Milbank Is Incredibly Affordable… Don’t Believe Anyone Suggesting It’s Not.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].

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